City counts on vehicles to finance budget

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As in previous years, the Jakarta administration will rely heavily on taxes paid by private car owners to finance its budget in 2006.

According to the budget draft submitted to City Council for deliberation on Monday, the Jakarta administration aims to collect Rp 5.25 trillion (US$525 million), or 71.52 percent, of Rp 7.34 trillion in total tax revenue targeted next year.

For the 2005 fiscal year, the city administration expected to collect Rp 4.42 trillion from automotive tax revenue, compared to Rp 6.12 trillion of total regional tax income.

The significant increase of automotive tax revenue is consistent with the introduction of various new automotive fees for document transers and sales documents.

The budget does not have a forecast on the total sales of automotive products in 2006, but Governor Sutiyoso said previously that the average annual growth of vehicle sales in the capital reaches approximately 8 percent.

There are around 4.7 million vehicles in the capital, with public transportation vehicles -- buses, taxis and minivans -- accounting for only 100,000 units.

The city administration has been encouraging Jakarta residents to shift from private cars to public transportation, but the appeal has largely fallen on deaf ears, partly due to poor public transportation in the capital.

The administration estimated that the city's total income for 2006 would reach Rp 14.9 trillion, while the expenditure would stand at around Rp 17.51 trillion. The deficit would be covered by unspent budget money from the city's 2005 budget.

On the revenue side, the city expects Rp 8.4 trillion from regional taxes, fees and dividends from state and city enterprises, as well as Rp 6.38 trillion from the central government.

Other significant regional income would come from fuel taxes worth Rp 575 billion, hotel taxes at some Rp 500 billion, restaurant taxes at around Rp 400 billion, Rp 150 billion for entertainment taxes, Rp 225 billion from advertisement taxes, the underground water taxes of Rp 60 billion and car park taxes of Rp 75 billion.

Regional fees are estimated to contribute Rp 400 billion or 7.25 percent higher than this year's figure. That money will come from construction permit fees, at Rp 133.62 billion, health service fees Rp 116.06 trillion, rental fees of regional assets Rp 25 billion, vehicle emission tests Rp 21.79 billion and on- street parking fees Rp 19 billion.

Meanwhile, the contribution of city-owned and joint venture enterprises is expected to reach Rp 125 billion, compared to Rp 103.4 billion this year.

The funds will mostly come from PT Bank DKI Rp 38.69 billion, PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol Rp 35.06 billion, city market operator PD Pasar Jaya Rp 20.74 billion, joint venture developer Jakarta Propertindo Rp 6.20 billion and city water operator PD Pam Jaya Rp 3 billion.